Friday, August 03, 2007

Two days ago I pointed you to Windmill's "31 Days of Spielberg" festivities. Here's another interesting ongoing project to keep an eye on (though I'm not sure how long term this one is): This Distracted Globe is currently (re)cycling through remakes and has already covered Insomnia, The Truth About Charlie, Red Dragon and King Kong among others...

Don’t remake good movies. Remake bad ones-John Huston

Questions in Need of Comments:Which sloppy seconds movie do you love most?If you agree that bad films should be reworked, what terrible movie do you hope to see reborn in a new body?

Best remake: the John Carpenter version of The Thing. Philip Kaufman's take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers is a classic, but Carpenter took a movie that was pretty good the first time around and made a masterpiece.

This is an excellent topic. I thought Peter Jackson's "Kong" was wonderful, albeit too long. I love that he remade the film that made him want to be a director in the first place. Some movies can stand beside their remakes with pride. I personally loved Zack Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead," however I haven't seen the original, so I have no basis for comparison. I think many will agree that "Psycho" was the most pointless remake ever. As for a bad movie that should be remade, I'm casting my vote for "Alexander". And not a 17th re-working by Oliver Stone, either. New director, new star and a new approach. There's so much to work with there, and that film was a mess.

Great remakes? Invasion of the Body Snatchers (remarkable because both movies were equally good), The Departed, the Maltese Falcon, and the Garland version of A Star Is Born.

My favorite candidates for remakes? Day of the Triffids, which has an awesome story but terribly cheesy special effects, and Damn Yankees, which has many fine things going for it, but is horribly stagebound and they cut out my favorite song (I Thought About the Game) because it was too dirty.

Jackson's "Kong" was simply terrible. The very definition of a bloated vanity project, almost completely needless and bringing nothing new or worthwhile to the table. No one stepped in and did anything about it prior to release because he was so hot off the LotR series, but the movie was seriously, inescapably awful. Let's get him to make another along the lines of "Heavenly Creatures", please.

I'd almost like to see a remake of "Midnight Madness", but I feel like it was almost too era-specific and it only plays as good as it does due to a sincerity that most filmmakers couldn't give that kind of material today.

"The Abominable Dr. Phibes" has real potential, as it bears much in common with some current horror trends but could class things up a little. Also, if someone were to do "Lady in a Cage" remade without modernizing it, it could be a great vehicle for any number of older actresses. Jessica Walter, for example.

THey should remake Repulsion, or at least revisit the idea. ALthough the movie is flawless. Best remake? I like MAtch Point. Wasn't that remade from a Place in The Sun?I feel bad for Bob Fosse. But Sweet Charity is not a good rendering of Nights of Cabiria.

This is an admittedly strange choice, but I thought 'Six Days, Seven Night' could have been(like 'The Afican Queen') a terrific romantic comedy, but the filmmakers undermined the leads' considerable chemistry with silly and unnecessary plot devices. I'd like to see what a skilled director and screenwriter could do with it.

to all: king kong gets worse and worse the further i get away from it. i'm siding with Dave Said here. ugh. so bloated and it never answers the whole "why?" question.

rob --agreed that beat that was very strong.

kurtis --yeah, too bad that BAZ's version of Alexander didn't pan out. one can only imagine...

damian --i know. but i'm a sucker for ambitious projects even if they're not ones I'd go for. I mean watching spielberg for an entire month? Ewwwww. so much treacle and manipulation. he's fine in small doses, mind you. ;)

kingroper --EXCELLENT idea. a chorus line. it is and will always be a stage piece but yes, a strong directorial version could make it interesting. the 85 version is such a disappointment. They couldn't even get the basic theme right.

anonymous --glad to hear mention of six days seven nights... messy yes but Heche. goddamn. now there is someone who shoulda had a much bigger career. such great and unique screen presence.

Also, it's not that I am begging or anything like that--I always feel a little awkward asking someone for this--but if at any point in time you'd be interested in adding me to your blogroll then I'd be most flattered.

Understand, of course, that I am just asking you, I am not expecting it. You are certainly under no obligation to do so. In fact, I always feel that I have to earn a place in someone sidebar of links. So, if you happen to feel that I have, I'd be honored to get included.